Chicago Chick-fil-A owner wants to talk with Emanuel

Hal DardickTribune reporter

The owner of the city's only Chick-fil-A restaurant today asked Mayor Rahm Emanuel to meet with her after Emanuel said the anti-gay marriage views of the fast-food chain's president don't mesh with Chicago values.

Lauren Silich, who owns a Chick-fil-A franchise just off the Magnificent Mile that opened last year, wrote in a press release that she is dedicated to "serving all of our guests with honor, dignity and respect. ... We alone created 97 jobs this past year and our passion is building leaders for future generations, regardless of sexual orientation or beliefs."

She invited Emanuel to meet her, her husband and management staff at her restaurant. The mayor's office had no immediate response.

In an interview today, Silich addressed Emanuel's comments. "I get it,” Silich said in an interview. “I’m from here as well.”

“I just want people to know there’s a local face to this controversy,” she added. “We’re not a corporate face. We love our city.”

Silich said she would never discriminate against anyone and has gay employees working at her restaurant.

Silich said she has deep Chicago roots and her husband Steve works for the city. City records indicate he's a police sergeant.

"We hold fundraisers for hospitals, schools, fallen police, and we donate to a wide variety of causes, including everything from churches to gay and lesbian organizations," Silich wrote.

The controversy over Chick-fil-A began earlier this week when the Tribune reported that Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st, planned to use his aldermanic privilege to block the construction of a second Chick-fil-A in Logan Square because of comments made last week by company President Dan Cathy.

Cathy was quoted July 16 in the Baptist Press saying he was "guilty as charged" for supporting "the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."

Chick-fil-A headquarters official in Atlanta have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

The Chick-fil-A in the city opened June 16, 2011. The Logan Square restaurant would not be owned and operated by the same people.